


The Hawk and the Wolf

by Sourlander



Category: Ladyhawke (1985), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Fandom Trumps Hate, Hawk!Poe, Ladyhawke - Freeform, M/M, Stormpilot, Wolf!Finn, human BB-8, poefinn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:38:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9641078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourlander/pseuds/Sourlander
Summary: The slave Beejou manages to escape from Emperor Hux. On his journey to freedom he finds himself indebted to the brooding knight Finn and his mysteriously helpful hawk. When he finds out they're cursed lovers, Beejou decides to do everything in his power to help them.Inspired by a prompt from the wonderfulQianLanforFandom Trumps Hate





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QianLan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QianLan/gifts).



> This fic was inspired by a prompt from [QianLan](http://archiveofourown.org/users/QianLan) for [Fandom Trumps Hate](http://fandomtrumpshate.tumblr.com/). Thank you so much for this prompt and your generous contribution!!!! You're awesome!
> 
> Apparently she really liked my Cinderoe Story, so she asked me to do another fairy tale, this time based on one of her favourite childhood memories: the movie Ladyhawke from 1985. I hope I'll be able to do it justice!

** The Hawk and the Wolf **

_Chapter 1_

 

The scarf he had managed to sneak out of the elderly man’s pocket a few days ago, didn’t look too conspicuous. The dark brown fabric was soft, but it looked sturdy and simple enough so it didn’t draw too much attention to him as he weaved in and out of the groups standing in the market place. He overheard snippets of conversation, but didn’t heed them. Their words meant nothing to him. Neither did their opinions on the Emperor’s decision to abolish the city council altogether. All that mattered to him was to get his belly filled as quickly as possible and not have anyone see the thin neck iron hidden beneath the scarf.

            Beejou ducked, when he heard heavy synchronized footsteps approaching and he headed off in another direction. He was sure his master was still looking for him. A slave was worth a lot, even to the Emperor who owned hundreds. Taking a deep breath, he turned to look past the stall he was hiding behind, ignoring the tempting smell of freshly baked bread for now. His stomach was grumbling, but he simply couldn’t concentrate on food right now. What he needed to do was get away from this place and get away fast.

            He pulled the scarf a little tighter around his neck, took a deep breath and slowly turned away from the approaching footsteps. With a bit of luck, he’d get away. He tried to look as innocent as possible, as he started making his way through the crowd. He felt his throat tighten and he wished he were already out of this damn Imperial City, but getting out of here was next to impossible. He should have remembered that, when he sneaked away from the palace in the dead of night. The city walls were high, the gates well-guarded. There was no way away from here. He should have stayed inside the palace in safety. Maybe freedom was overrated anyway?

            Droplets of sweat were trickling down his neck, as he heard the footsteps becoming louder and the people around him grow quiet. He hadn’t been quick enough! All was lost.

            He let out an almost inaudible yelp, when someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him aside. Breathing heavily, Beejou tried whirling around, but the hand holding him in place was strong, pulling him along, away from the soldiers. Nearly choking, Beejou stumbled backwards, following the directions the hand was giving him, until he saw two walls closing in on him. No one had paid attention to them. Not a single person had looked up in surprise at the scruffy looking boy being pulled through the crowd.

            Gasping for breath, Beejou whirled around and stumbled a step back when the hand released him. Looking up, he saw a young woman, her eyes focused on the people in the square, not on him. Her breath was brushing past his cheek and he noticed the scent emanating from her, which he couldn’t help but describe as soft. Blinking, he looked up at her, at her dark eyes and the determined look on her face, but when he made to speak, her hand fell over his mouth, shutting him up.

            “Quiet!” Her voice was barely audible, but the urgency was clearly there and if she had no intention of betraying him to the Emperor’s Guard then he sure as hell wasn’t going to complain. Next moment the feathers on top of the Guards’ helmets were clearly visible from where they were standing in the narrow niche between two houses and Beejou allowed her to pull him deeper into the shadow. They remained standing there for a few more moments and all the while Beejou’s mind was racing. He felt like he had seen her before. But where?

            When she finally let go of him again, he was surprised to see something like a sad smile on her face. “You’re from the palace, aren’t you?” she asked.

            There was no sense denying it. He nodded briefly.

            “You ran off?”

            He nodded again, wondering how many others might have spotted and recognized him. “I’m Beejou.”

            “Rey.” She sighed, scratching her head. “Can’t blame you for running away,” she said, looking around. “But they’re looking for you. You can’t stay here.”

            “No kidding…” Beejou scoffed, leaning lazily against the wall.

            “Seriously. Your complexion isn’t all that common around here. Red orange hair, pasty white skin…”

            “The Emperor-“

            “Emperor Hux wasn’t born here either.”

            Beejou shut up again. He had no idea who his parents were. His earliest memory was being in an elderly woman’s house. A woman whose name he couldn’t recall. All he remembered was that she had died, and some guard had shown up to take him to the palace. That was where he had grown up. That was the only place he had known until his twelfth naming day about a year ago, when the Emperor had taken him and a few other boys with him into the city. They had seen a play. A play Beejou had watched unfold with fascination, the masks and songs drawing him inside a world completely different from what he had known. And he had been grateful to the Emperor for taking him along. But still… he wanted to see more of the world than just the inside of the palace, where he worked. More than this city, where he had spent all his life. There was so much more out there and Beejou wanted to see it all.

            “Take that way.”

            Beejou blinked, unable to follow her. “What way?”

            “That way.” Rey pointed at the ground and Beejou followed her gaze to the dust covered cobbles and the small hole covered by a grey metal grate.

            “What… you mean…” Beejou swallowed hard. The hole was barely big enough for him, but it might, in fact, do the trick.  If only he managed to squeeze through the hole and make it through the sewers running beneath the city… why hadn’t he thought of this way out before?!

            “Go!” she whispered urgently, bending over and lifting the grate with apparent ease. “No one is going to look for you there.”

            Beejou shook his head, unable to believe what was happening here. “Why are you helping me?” he asked, crouching down and letting his feet dangle over the hole. “I mean… you don’t know me.”

            She shrugged. “Shame on you for not recognizing me.” She winked and pointed at the hole again. “Off you go. If you need help out there, try finding Castle Dagobah. A friend of mine lives there. He’s going to help you… probably.” She smiled slightly and Beejou realized that he _had_ in fact seen her before, but he couldn’t quite place her.

The stomping of feet was what drove him to slip into the hole until he was only dangling from his fingertips, feet kicking helplessly at the emptiness below. Up on the street he hadn’t even realized how bad it smelled down here, but now it was all he could do not to climb back up again to escape the horrible stench. Closing his eyes tight, he took one deep breath.

This was his only chance.

His only way of escaping the city.

He hated it, but there was nothing for it.

“Go!”

The one word whispered at him from above was all it took to let go. He pressed his lips tightly together. He didn’t even look down. What he had seen from up there was all he needed to know and all he wanted to know, before the horribly warm fluids of Arkanis’ sewer system swallowed him whole.

 

At some point, after what seemed like hours of swimming (or rather: not drowning) he had found a log, far beyond the city walls. He didn’t dare paddling to the shore in case anyone saw him. Moreover, the river kept tagging him along. He didn’t have to do much but hold on to the piece of wood and keep his head above water, but as the sun began to set, he felt his limbs growing cold again. At least the rushing waters had washed off the horrible smell of the sewer system, but that didn’t keep his teeth from chattering, or his limbs from shaking.

            Before the last rays of sunlight disappeared, he had reached dense forest and trembling from head to foot, Beejou made one last effort pushing himself through the water towards the bushes lining the shoreline without ever letting go of the log, even if his arms were as tired as they had never been in his entire life. When he finally felt soft, muddy ground beneath his bare feet, his legs almost giving way, he let go of the bit of wood which had kept him alive for what felt like an eternity.

Breathing heavily, Beejou collapsed on the soft, sweet smelling grass between to bushes, the earth still warm beneath his back, but the cold was still getting to him. His fingers were getting numb, but there was nothing he could do but lie here and let it happen. He was as exhausted as he had never been in his entire life and before long he lost consciousness.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

 

When Beejou woke, he had to turn his head to avoid staring directly into the sun. He blinked and found that his nose was almost touching the dangerously sharp beak of a small bird, its amber irises flashing dangerously in the sun.

            Beejou pulled back, barely able to contain a sound of shock. He had never in all his life been this close to a bird, especially not a bird of prey! Its brown, almost golden plumage was shiny in the light sifting through the foliage above. The bird took another step towards him, still giving Beejou this perfectly strange look. It cocked its head and Beejou sprang to his feet, startling the bird. It spread its wings and hopped back, giving a soft screech.

            “Don’t startle him!”

            Beejou whirled around to see a man dressed all in black pushing through the underbrush. His dark cloak hanging from his bulky frame was almost touching the ground, and Beejou could see the stains many days of travel had left upon it.

            “Who- who are you?” he stammered, taking another step back and feeling the soft, moist earth near the river’s edge. Should he try to make a run for it? But how far would he get, really? Only now did he see where he really was. The clearing was wide, and yet well concealed but at the other end of it he could see a black horse tied to one of the trees. He’d have no chance getting away from this man.

            “The name is Finn.” The man said, eyes on the bird. “We found you last night. You were drenched and unconscious. Couldn’t really leave you lying there, could we?”

            Beejou shrugged. At his feet, he spotted blackened earth surrounded by a circle of stones. This stranger had made a fire here apparently. Beejou swallowed hard. “Thank you,” he said timidly, taking another step to the side. “But… but why is your bird staring at me like that? I’m not a rabbit.” What was that man doing here anyway? Was he a huntsman? Why else would he be carrying his hawk with him? But then again: why did the saddlebags lying on the ground look so full? The man was obviously a traveller, but he had never heard of someone travelling with a hawk and without entourage. None of this made sense.

            “And who is it I helped protect from the cold, then?”

            Beejou snapped back to attention and watched as the man sat down on the grass and whistled at the bird, which immediately hopped onto his gloved wrist.

            Clearing his throat, Beejou sat down again. “My name is Beejou,” he said quietly. “I… I’m from Arkanis.” He bit on his tongue immediately, realizing far too late that he might very well be in the process of betraying his one and only secret to a complete stranger. Not that the neck iron wasn’t a dead giveaway already.

            The man who called himself Finn lifted an eyebrow and looked Beejou up and down with a questioning look on his face which made Beejou want to vanish right there and then. Being swallowed whole by the ground might not have been a bad option. At least that way he wouldn’t have to worry about having to run for his life again.

            “Did you run away, then? Don’t worry, I don’t want to return you to your master.”

            Beejou swallowed hard, wondering how his mouth could be this dry when he had spent most of the previous day in the river. “Yes,” he answered hoarsely, feeling his stomach twist painfully. He hadn’t eaten in two days.

            Finn furrowed his brow, then reached behind him with his free hand and produced a loaf of bread from the saddle bag lying right behind him. With a soft smile on his lips, he threw it to Beejou, who caught it and took a huge bite out of it before even looking at it properly. The soft acidity in combination with the sweetness of the bread itself made a moan of pleasure climb up his throat, which was only stifled by the chunk of bread filling his mouth. He barely had room left to chew as his mouth was flooded with saliva and he had barely swallowed a little piece, when he moved the loaf to his mouth again.

            “Hey!” Finn said, ripping the bread from his hands again. “Stop stuffing yourself! You’ll throw up!”

            Beejou made a sound which was supposed to be a decisive “no” but all he managed was to spew out a couple of breadcrumbs. The hawk on Finn’s wrist shifted, its eyes trained on the breadcrumbs and Beejou moved back again, while trying to chew and swallow as quickly as possible before the damn bird could get any ideas, pull itself free and start picking the bread out of his mouth.

            It took him a while to empty his mouth, but when he managed it, he held out his hand to Finn again, who had kept watching him the entire time. Hadn’t Beejou been this hungry, he would have found the stranger’s gaze weirdly disconcerting. “Can I have more?”

            Finn nodded, then hesitated, before ripping of a sizable chunk from the bread and handing it to him. “Take it slow, okay?”

            “Why are you doing this?” Beejou asked, biting off a smaller piece of bread and ordering himself to slow down. “Helping me?”

            Finn shrugged and looked down at the hawk sitting on his wrist. He reached for the bag again und pulled out a small piece of dark red meat. “You looked so helpless,” Finn said and Beejou looked away quickly as the bird’s head shot forward ripping the meat out of Finn’s hand. “We couldn’t just leave you here.”

            Beejou scowled at the man sitting across from him, and feeding his pet like it was the most natural thing in the world. The question why everyone seemed to be so intent on helping him was one he couldn’t just shake off, but he couldn’t exactly ask either. It would feel undignified, even for a former slave. He was thirteen years old and not a child anymore! He swallowed the last bite of bread and wiped his hands, wondering where on earth he was going to get his next meal and whether he’d actually be able to find work in the clothes he was wearing right now.

            “Well…” Beejou said, getting to his feet.

            The bird spread its wings for a moment, eyes intent on Beejou. Immediately Finn hooked the tough looking leather safety line on the metal rings cuffed to the hawk’s foot and put the small cap over its head. “Sorry, can’t have you attacking our friend here,” he said, his voice almost soft if not warm.

            “Well…” Beejou started again, “I’d better be going then.”

            “Really? Where to?”

            “Uhm…” Beejou looked over his shoulder and shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’ll find somewhere.”

            Finn reached up and stroked the hawk’s feathers, evoking a sound from it that almost sounded like a purr. “Work?” he asked without looking up at Beejou and the former slave nodded.

            “I hope so.”

Finn looked him up and down again, his expression telling Beejou more than he needed to know. His clothes had been good enough for a slave, in fact they had been the best kinds of clothes a slave could ask for, but of course he still wasn’t rid of his neck iron and after a day of drifting through the river they must be ruined.

            “Can I ask you something?”

            “You already have,” Beejou retorted and shrugged. “But yes, you can ask another one.” He wasn’t used to someone asking for permission before posing a question or talking to him. This was new… was it something he could actually get used to though? Beejou wasn’t sure.

            Finn smirked, but he still didn’t get up. “Who was your master?”

            Beejou swallowed hard. “You promise you won’t take me back there?”

            “I don’t like the concept of slavery.” Finn shook his head. The half-smile had dropped from his lips. “No, I won’t.”

            Somehow Beejou was tempted to believe him. He nodded and sat back down again. He didn’t have to be anywhere, did he? “The Emperor. Emperor Hux.”

            “I see…” Finn took a deep breath, then he got up, set the hawk down on one of the lower branches of a nearby tree. “May I?” he asked, approaching Beejou and pointing at the neck iron.

            Beejou nodded and bent his head so the stranger could examine it more closely. He had no idea why he trusted this man, but then again Finn, whoever he might be, had watched over him the previous night, so why not trust him once more?

            He almost didn’t feel the other’s fingers. The only thing he did feel was the neck iron being lifted and turned around slowly.

            “I think I can get this off,” Finn said. “But I’m going to have to ask you for a favour.”

            Beejou closed his eyes. So, that was where this was leading… a quit pro quo. He looked up at the man, who kneeled down in front of him. “You know the palace right?”

Beejou nodded.

            “And you know how to get into the city without drawing attention to yourself? And into the palace?”

            A sense of dread started spreading through his entire being, but he nodded anyway.

            “I’m going to get rid of this neck iron. I’m going to give you decent clothes. If you help me get into the palace, I promise you: you will be a rich man. Richer than you thought you could ever be, when you ran off.”

The icy firmness in Finn’s eyes made Beejou shudder.

The hawk screeched loudly, freezing Beejou’s very essence.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

 

The last thing Beejou wanted to do was go back to Arkanis. It was the most dangerous place in the world for him, but the promise of gold kept him walking. According to Finn, who had stopped being talkative about an hour after they had started walking, it would take them at least a day to return to the Imperial City, though he was sure that returning there so shortly after Beejou’s escape might indeed be a foolish idea. The guards might remember the description of the runaway slave if that very same slave turned up again not two days after he had fled the city.

So instead of heading west straightaway, Finn turned his horse north into the thick of the forest surrounding them and Beejou followed him. He didn’t even ask why they didn’t stay put and waited by the river. The grim look on Finn’s face made every single word of complaint stay behind Beejou’s tightly sealed lips. He was used to having to be quiet after all.

They trudged on and on until they reached the edge of the northern border of the woods. Already the sun was beginning to set and by now Beejou couldn’t even feel his legs anymore. He couldn’t remember when he had ever walked this long without a break his entire life. The Imperial Palace, even the city of Arkanis itself, had physical boundaries and there was only so far one could walk within them.

“Where are we going again?” Beejou asked, draining the last bit of water from the flask Finn had handed him some time ago. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a narrow stream leaving the forest and heading straight towards a fenced-in meadow as large as the labyrinth within the gardens of the Imperial Palace. They were bound to be close to civilization then.

Finn nodded towards the edge of the woods and at a small group of rocks almost stretching out from the hill like a natural cave. It was the perfect shelter, Beejou realized.

“You can sleep there tonight.” Finn slid out of the saddle and opened the knot tying the hawk to the saddle.

“What about you?” Beejou asked. Just like Beejou, the grim-looking knight hadn’t rested the entire day and he was bound to be just as exhausted as Beejou, but Finn just shook his head.

“I’ll be back long before dawn, don’t worry. I just need to hunt, get some provisions, you know?”

Beejou nodded, absentmindedly as the fear of the night started settling on his shoulders, almost pushing him down just like the weariness was pulling at his limbs. He had never slept outside before, he thought, as Finn handed him the reigns of the horse. At least not willingly. Yes, he had known this moment would come and yes, he had collapsed by the side of the river the previous night to sleep there, but to be fair, he hadn’t been able to think at all back then but now the time had come to settle in for the night. He had never slept alone and he doubted he could fall asleep easily, even after the day’s long journey.

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about what to say to Finn, he thought, as he made his way over to the rock formation. He looked over his shoulder to see the knight holding his bird on his gloved wrist and gently stroking the golden-brown plumage. It looked somehow like more than a man caressing his hunting companion and Beejou wondered for a brief moment if there was more to this strange attachment Finn felt towards the hawk.

“Why do you go hunting now?” Beejou asked. “We were in the forest the entire day and you had that hawk with you all the time?”

Finn shrugged without taking his eyes off the hawk and then started making his way towards Beejou who had reached the rocks by now.

“I never hunt during the day,” Finn said and Beejou couldn’t help but wonder why the man seemed to like sounding mysterious. “You can have one of the blankets behind the saddle there and there’s food in the saddlebags.” He grabbed the leather string holding the hawk tight, then pulled back the flap over one of the bags. “There’s some cooked meat from before I met you and bread.”

“Aren’t you having anything?” Beejou asked incredulously.

“Sure I am. Just saying where everything is.” Finn smiled weakly, then reached into the bag to pull out a small loaf of bread, which he put into the satchel hanging from his belt and a small leather-bound parcel. He knelt down to open it, hawk still perched on his wrist and as he opened the parcel to reveal several small pieces of raw meat, the bird started fidgeting nervously.

“Hang on,” Finn said, shaking his head and picking up one of the pieces with his other leather protected hand to feed the bird.

“Why _do_ you have the hawk with you all the time?” Beejou asked before he could stop himself.

Finn didn’t look up, just kept feeding the bird with the last few pieces of meat, before getting up again.

Shrugging, Beejou busied himself taking the saddle off the horse. He had worked in the stables occasionally and knew what he was doing. Taking care of horses wasn’t second nature to him, but he knew his way around them. The horse nudged him in the shoulder. It probably wanted to start on dinner as well.

“He’s a good companion is all,” Finn said suddenly and Beejou turned around, saddle still in hand. Standing with his back to Beejou, Finn was gently stroking his fingertip over the hawk’s head again, which started nibbling at Finn’s gloved index finger almost affectionately. It was a strange sight to behold.

Beejou had seen the Emperor interact with his birds, but never had he seen anything like this. It was as if the two knew each other intimately, but two creatures this different couldn’t be this close, could they?

Beejou turned away, feeling almost ashamed, as if he had been spying on someone.

“Don’t wait up for me,” he heard Finn say, but Beejou didn’t look over his shoulder to watch him leave. He heard him and that was enough.

A soft screech made him wince and only when the bird took flight and vanished into the trees, did he raise his gaze. The sun was about to set and only a few rays remained to streak over the hilltops encircling the valley. In the distance Beejou could see a herd of sheep grazing and as he settled in the soft grass, saddlebags right behind him and a loaf of bread in his hands, he wondered what on earth was wrong with this man who had promised him so much.

Ripping a piece of bread from the loaf, Beejou looked over to the horse, its reigns tied to a nearby tree and he wondered why Finn had let the hawk fly into the forest. Was he so sure the bird was coming back to him no matter what?

But then again, what did he care? The hawk was of no concern to him. All he needed right now was to get some sleep and then, in a few days time, find a way to sneak this strange knight into the city. Not that that would be an easy thing to do, but he’d have to try. It was not something he could start planning now anyway, he told himself, as he started eating and lay on his back. If he started worrying about trying to get into the city without being recognized or about what Finn was going to do there, he’d never be able to fall asleep.

As he lay there, aching legs stretched out and the sky above him darkening, his mind started drifting back to the city he had spent all his life in and the mental image of the streets, of the palace’s corridors unravelling in in his mind almost like ball of wool made him dizzy. He shut his eyes tight and turned to the side, trying to calm his breathing. He had managed to get away… why had he agreed to return?

_Because you have nowhere else to go._

The voice inside his head made him flinch. He had heard it before, back in the palace. The voice which had told him to run when the chance of escape had presented itself. And now he was stranded in the middle of nowhere, headed straight back to the place he had run from, because there simply was no other way to go.

Because staying on the run would mean getting caught at some point. There was no chance he’d get the neck iron off by himself and it wasn’t very likely he’d ever find work.

Beejou took a deep breath.

Then another one.

Darkness had swallowed everything around him and only the stars twinkling above made it possible to see darker shapes within the shadows. There was no moon in the sky tonight, and the soft breeze rustling through the trees behind him made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

The horse moved, hits hooves shifting gently through the grass.

His heart was beating wildly.

_Nowhere else to go._

Was going with Finn really the only chance he had?

What if he got caught?

What if-

The wolf’s loud howling interrupted his thoughts, making him sit up straight. Breathing heavily, he gazed out into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

 

He couldn’t see anything apart from the leaves moving softly in the wind. His heart was beating so hard, he could practically hear it!

            Beejou crawled forward to take hold of one of the stones and looked up at the horse, which hadn’t moved an inch. Had he imagined it? Weren’t horses usually the first beasts to take flight? Why wasn’t this one?

            “Just stay calm, you idiot…” Beejou muttered, sitting back on his heels. If he panicked now, he might just draw attention to himself. Slowly, he shifted forward, so he was looking over the edge of the stone and into the underbrush right behind it. There were only a few leaves on this one bush, making it possible for him to look into the forest behind. He was half expecting a pair of yellow eyes to stare right back at him, but there was nothing there… nothing at all.

            Beejou let out a deep, shuddering breath, turned around to sit back on the ground, back against the stone, as if that might provide sufficient cover. The horse was still grazing happily as if nothing was wrong. “Am I going crazy?”

            Still he could feel his pulse drumming, his blood rushing through his veins, but nothing save for the rustling of the leaves in the wind and the soft sounds of the horse chewing was reaching his ears now. Tentatively, he reached out towards the loaf of bread he had dropped before and ripped off a piece. He was still hungry. Maybe he should just try to eat something, no matter how hard it might be at this precise moment, with his hands trembling and his knees feeling like he’d never walk again.

            Even if he hadn’t imagined the wolf howling, it might still be very far away. And… why would that beast go after him, when there were plenty of sheep nearby.

            _And a delicious looking horse._

Beejou shoved the thought away, unwilling to think about it, but with every bite he took, it seemed to be whispering louder and louder in his ear.

            _That wolf is going to get you._

_Just wait._

_You look delicious probably._

_All young and lean._

Beejou nearly choked on his bread, when he heard the leaves rustling behind him. It was as if he was frozen in place. Trapped by the sounds in the meadow and behind him in the forest. Didn’t wolves usually move in packs? He didn’t know, but if they were he was in big trouble…

            The horse snorted loudly, but appeared to be calm despite the horrific noises surrounding them. What was wrong with that thing?

            Shaking from head to foot, Beejou shifted into a kneeling position, ready to start running at the next sound. He wasn’t sure where he’d run to, or how far he’d get but he sure as hell wasn’t going to die here and-

            His scream pierced the cold night air, when a big, heavy hand fell on his shoulder and next moment another hand was over his mouth, shutting him up effectively.

            “Shush, it’s all right!”

            That wasn’t Finn! Blinking, Beejou shifted his gaze to the side, but all he could see was a man’s profile. Dark curls, eyes glinting in the moonlight and a mouth stretched into a soft smile. “You’re okay,” the man said again, allowing Beejou to break free and jump to his feet.

            “Who the hell- oh!” Beejou spun around when he realized the man kneeling on the ground was naked and a cold shiver ran down his spine. A naked man… stalking a defenceless boy in the middle of the night. This couldn’t be good. If only Finn had left him a knife or some other sort of weapon.

            “Wha-oh! OH! No! Nononono! Hey! Don’t worry it’s- uh.”

            Beejou slapped his hands over his face. “Just make it quick!”

            “Hey, no! No, that’s not- oh crap!”  

            He could hear the man approaching him, could hear his every step. But the man didn’t touch him again. Beejou peeked through his fingers, as he heard the man approach the horse and pick up one of the saddle bags to pull out a blanket which he wrapped around his body. “Don’t be afraid,” the man said, his voice calm and holding up one hand and clasping the blanket to his body with the other. “I’m Poe.”

            The sound of an animal screaming in pain, made Beejou flinch, but the man, Poe, didn’t seem to be too worried about it. “Th… there’s a wolf… over there…” Beejou muttered, his voice trembling.

            “So?” Poe asked, sitting down on one of the rocks and reaching out to touch the horse, which didn’t even shy away. “There are at least three others inside the forest right now. You’re not worried about those?”

            Eyes wide, Beejou stared into the forest. What was wrong with people? Why didn’t anyone seem to care about wolves anymore? Hungry wolves by the sound of it, too?

            “Come on, sit down, I’m not gonna bite.”

            Beejou’s tongue felt like a dead, furry animal as he slumped down on one of the rocks. The horse nudged him in the shoulder. Well, at least the man really didn’t appear to be dangerous. He was weird, yes, but not dangerous. At least not right now.

            “What… what’re you doing here?”

            “Me?” The man bent over and picked up the saddle bag again. After rummaging through it for about a minute, he came up with a satchel. He opened it and pulled out a piece of cooked meat. “You want some?”

            “No?” Beejou reached for the bread he had dropped earlier, trying to ignore the sudden quiet drifting over to them from the meadow. Was the wolf headed their way already?

            He clasped the bread close to his chest, doing his best to ignore the rapid heartbeat and the discomfort about sitting here with a man who was barely wearing anything at all.

            “Fine,” the man shrugged. “Hey, where are you from by the way?”

            “Look who’s asking.” Beejou pulled his knees close to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and still holding on to the bread.

            “I told you, I’m Poe. Very rude not to tell me who you are.”

            “You’re the one stalking me!”

            “I’m not stalking you!”

            “What’re you doing here then? Not wearing any clothes… and-“

            “Shush, don’t shout. You’re gonna draw attention to us.”

            “The wolves?!” Beejou’s voice was shrill, even to his own ears and only the man putting his finger to his lips made him shut up.

            “Exactly… just stay quiet… and to answer your question: I was robbed. Just glad to have come across you... and your food.”

            “That’s… that’s not my food you’re stealing.”

            Poe snorted, his teeth glinting in the starlight. “Not your horse either, I suppose.”

            “Do I _look_ like it’s my horse?”

            A soft laugh made Beejou relax somewhat. Evil people didn’t laugh that way, did they? Beejou couldn’t tell, but something about this man made him feel safe, now that the shock over his nakedness had passed.

            “Who robbed you?” he asked. “And why didn’t they leave you your pants at least?”

            Poe shrugged. “Who knows…” he bit off a piece from the meat, chewed and looked out towards the meadow.

            “Not a very straightforward answer…” Beejou said quietly.

            “Coming from the boy who won’t give me his name…”

            “I… I’m Beejou.”

            “Nice to meet you, Bee.” The man nodded at him, then he got up. “Well,” he said. “Thanks for the food anyway. And.. and this.”

            “Hey!” Beejou jumped to his feet. “You can’t have those!”

            “How do you know? Are they yours?”

            “No…”

            “See?”

            Beejou fell silent. He was neither in the mood, nor in the mental state to attack a full- grown man wearing nothing but a blanket.

            A full-grown man wearing nothing but a blanket…

            What was going on here?!  Was he dreaming? Hallucinating?! Beejou blinked, as the man walked past him, slapped him on the shoulder and started walking back towards the forest, Beejou’s loaf of bread in his hand all of a sudden.

            “Hey!” Beejou said. “Now _that’s_ mine!”

            “Thank you!” The man said over his shoulder.

            “Aren’t- aren’t you afraid of the wolves?”

            The man shrugged again as he walked off again. “Not really.”

            Beejou kept standing there, looking dumbfounded after the man as he made his way towards the trees. The sky was turning light grey again.

What the hell was he going to tell Finn?


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

And where _was_ Finn?

            He’d had enough. Enough of this journey back to Arkanis, enough of this knight who expected so much of him. It didn’t matter what he was offering Beejou in return, this whole thing simply wasn’t worth it! It couldn’t be! The wolves, the nights, the naked men and the prospect of returning to the Imperial City where he was running the risk of becoming a slave yet again.

            Already the sun was rising and still Finn hadn’t returned…

            Heart beating wildly in his chest, Beejou picked up one pair of the saddle bags, slung it over his shoulder and looked back. Nothing stirred inside the forest. No sound had emanated from the field in about half an hour...

            His knees were weak and he could tell they wanted to do nothing but give way and betray him in the process. Beejou took a deep breath.

            Staying here was crazy. So was running away probably, but he could just as well try to make his luck somewhere else. Somewhere where he might have a roof over his head. Somewhere where he wouldn’t be afraid of wolves sneaking up on him and ripping his throat out.

            For a brief moment, he thought about leaving the saddle bag behind, but inside he hadfound not only a satchel with meat, but also a knife and a waterskin the night before… Carrying all these things individually was impossible so he didn’t really have a choice. He patted the horse and then made to move away from the rock formation with a sinking feeling. Stealing really wasn’t his thing. Not at all. He had never stolen anything in his life, and even if this Finn was crazy and was threatening to get him into trouble, he felt miserable just considering to take his things. But what other choice did he have?

            If he stayed, he’d only get into even bigger trouble than he already was. Probably.

            Pulling one of the saddlebags close to his chest, Beejou started walking. Behind him the horse neighed loudly, making him stop in his tracks for a brief moment.

            He looked over his shoulder, only to find that the horse had followed him. Not far, but certainly a few steps. “Just stay there.” Beejou said quietly, shaking his head. He couldn’t exactly take Finn’s horse too… or could he? No. No, that was out of the question. “Stay, stupid horse.” He took another step, still facing the horse. And it followed him again. 

            Maybe, if he ran straight for the forest, the horse would lose interest. Maybe… not very likely though and he wasn’t keen on running into that pack of wolves either. He took another deep breath, put his hands to his hips and said loudly: “I can’t take you along! You’d better stay with your master, silly beast.”

            The horse snorted loudly and Beejou’s heart sank. Why did he feel guilty now? He really didn’t care about the damn horse!

            _And what if it gets attacked by the wolf?_

Beejou pressed his lips together and started walking again, face still turned towards the horse. “Better you than me,” he whispered but the words stung. They didn’t feel true. But there was nothing to be done. He had to get away from here and quick.

            The horse stayed put and Beejou started running.

The sun was well up in the sky before he allowed himself to take a break and collapsed on the ground. Already he was regretting that he hadn’t stopped by the stream he had passed some time ago to refill his waterskin. But he had been too afraid. Too afraid to stop and risk Finn catching up with him on his horse.

            The problem was, that he had moved so quickly over the past few hours that he was utterly exhausted by now and it was all he could do to hide behind a tree by the road and try to catch his breath. His lungs were burning, his knees felt like goo and if he had to take another step, he’s fall over straight away. Closing his eyes, he waited for his heartbeat to slow down and for the feeling of vinegar running down his throat to subside, before he took out the waterskin and took a few gulps. The cool liquid seemed to ease the pain somewhat, but his eyelids were so heavy at this moment… darkness was reaching for him again and he had no means to fight it. None at all. He hadn’t slept properly in two days and the long run had burnt up all the energy he had left. As his eyes fell shut, and he felt himself drifting off, he couldn’t even find it in him to care that anyone looking at where they were going on that road was likely to spot him.

            Luckily though he didn’t have anything of value on him…

            And with that Beejou drifted off to sleep.

           

He awoke with a start. Something was tickling him. When he opened his eyes, the wolf was  the first thing he saw, so close to him that the hot, wet breath hit his skin mercilessly.

            Beejou couldn’t move, as he stared into those glowing yellow eyes and the stark white teeth glinting in the faint moonlight. The wolf took a step towards him, its snout precariously close to Beejou’s nose. Its paws touching his legs.

            _It’s going to kill me_ , he thought. _Right now. Right here._

            He was unable to utter a single sound. Even the pleading whimpering died in his throat as the wolf bared its teeth in a snarl and started growling. The cold wet nose touched Beejou’s and the scent of blood on the wolf’s breath made paralyzed him like nothing ever before had.

            “Hey, leave him alone, will you?” The voice was vaguely familiar, but Beejou’s brain was unable to process anything but those yellow eyes, that horrible breath and the icy cold holding him in place.

            The wolf blinked, then pulled away, taking a step back. Only now did Beejou realize that it was as black as a shadow.

            “Wh-“ he began, but the vowel didn’t seem to fall into place on his tongue.

            Still the wolf was retreating. Back towards a line of bushes, its eyes still fixed on Beejou.

            The world before his eyes was swimming and he felt like he too was drowning. His surroundings were weirdly dampened, like a cushion had been laid over his senses. From the corner of his eye he could see something approaching him. Something … walking … … on two legs.

            Beejou blinked, when he felt a hand on his forehead.

            “You scared him half to death.” The voice barely reached him and making out the words was hard. What was going on?

 

When he woke again, his head aching and spinning, his limbs stiff from the cold, he was alone. No one was there. Had he dreamed it?

            Beejou blinked, looking at the bushes the monster had vanished behind in his dreams….

            He was lying on his side, cheek caked with dirt sticking to his sweat-stained face.

Only when he tried to sit up did he realize that his hands were bound.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

 

The neighing of a horse was his first clue on who had forced him into this position. Beejou turned his head and wasn’t surprised to see a pair of sturdy boots enter his field of vision.

            “You’re awake now, huh?”

            Beejou scoffed as Finn’s hands pushed him into a sitting position. He met the knight’s gaze with difficulty but didn’t reply, not even when the man knelt before him, brow furrowed and lips pressed into a tight line. What was he supposed to say anyway?

            “I thought we had a deal?”

            Beejou shrugged. “Do you even know what happened while you were gone? There was a wolf pack nearby and-“

            “Then why did you run away? Why didn’t you look for a place to hide? Why did you leave Snap behind?”

            “Who’s-“

            “The horse, idiot!”

            Beejou pulled a face and looked up at the black horse standing nearby. The saddlebags were back in place and it didn’t seem like the horse, Snap, cared about what had happened to it. So it had a name after all… not that Beejou cared! He shrugged again “Couldn’t protect it anyway,” he mumbled almost inaudibly. And it was true, wasn’t it? How should he have protected that horse?!

            Finn shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

            “And what about the naked man?”

            “What naked man?” Finn raised his eyebrows again and held Beejou’s gaze for a little while longer, making the boy feel more and more awkward with every passing second. Had he imagined it?

            No.

            No, he couldn’t have.

            Could he?

            “When you left, a naked man came out of the forest, ate my bread and-“ He stopped, when Finn reached up, touching his palm to Beejou’s forehead.

            “I’m not sick!”

            “Are you sure, you’re not running a fever?”

            “Yes!” Beejou shouted. “Let me go!”

            “Listen-“

            “No! You listen! I’m sick of it, alright? I’ve been on the run for the past few days! I’m tired and hungry and I’m fed up with you not telling me anything!”

            “What do you want to know then?”

            Beejou stopped short.

He wasn’t even sure.

He didn’t even _want_ to know anything about Finn and only now did he realize that he had said it only so he wouldn’t have to admit how scared he was. He bit on his lower lip and turned his head away. The rope binding his hands behind his back was rough and much too tight. He felt the strain in his shoulders already, but whatever happened to him next, he wasn’t sure he could admit to the man in front of him how terrified he was.

            “Listen.”

            From the corner of his eye, Beejou could see Finn’s expression softening. He shook his head slightly and looked down at the dirt, where his face had spent the night. The horse shifted slightly.

            The sigh coming from Finn, told Beejou that the man was unnerved. That he didn’t want to talk to Beejou much like Beejou didn’t want to talk to Finn.

            “I’m sorry,” Finn said quietly. “I’m sorry, but I need you.”

            “What for? Why me?”

            “Because you know your way around. You only just left the Imperial City and I haven’t been to Arkanis in five years. The palace was undergoing reconstruction then and I don’t know its new layout. I need you to get me in there.”

            “Beejou nodded. So you say… but…” No. No, he didn’t want to know anything about this. He shrugged again, feeling stupid and little as he did so, the neck iron scraping roughly against his neck. Some dirt must have gotten caught beneath it and it. He had to clean it soon if he didn’t want to get hurt. But right now, all he could think about was being forced to go back, where he’d be beaten senseless because he had dared to run away. He sniffled, tears springing to his eyes despite his best efforts.

            Finn put his hand on Beejou’s shoulder, then on his cheek and forced Beejou to look at him. “I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, but I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t important.”

            “Why?” Beejou asked blinking.

            Finn didn’t answer for a long while, but he let go of Beejou’s face and a sad smile started spreading over his face. A smile as mysterious as the mission he wanted to send Beejou on. “Do you-“

            The hawk’s loud screech cut him off. He looked up and sprang to his feet. The sound of approaching hoofs made Beejou’s stomach tighten. The look on Finn’s face was like a blow to the gut. Eyes wide, the knight looked up to the sky and then to a field behind the tree. Finn wasn’t paying attention to the riders drawing ever closer, but to something else.

            Beejou leaned forward as best he could. Down the road, he could see three riders, all of them dressed in the same dark and red garments. Soldiers. Probably just a patrol, but still…

            “Finn!” he croaked, his voice making Finn flinch. He spun towards the road, saw the soldiers just as they spotted him and hissed. They were about a hundred metres away, but still… Finn bent low over Beejou, drew his knife and next moment Beejou’s hands were free.

            “The hawk fell over there on the field. You’ll be able to spot him easily. Take him north. About twenty miles from here you will find the ruins of a castle. Take the hawk there… please!”

            Beejou’s mouth was dry, but he didn’t move. Were those tears in Finn’s eyes? “Wha-“ he managed, but Finn got to his feet again. The soldiers had spotted him and just as Finn drew his sword, the soldiers spurred on their horses.

            “Go…” Finn said. “The monk there will take off your neck iron. Take the horse.  I’ll hold them off.”

            Take… take the horse? Beejou stared up at the knight open mouthed. Take the hawk? What the devil was going on here?!

            “Go!”  Finn shouted, stepping out from behind the tree and swirling his sword through the air.

            He was letting him go… Finn was actually letting him go… and sending him to someone who might get rid of this cursed iron.

            The soldiers were drawing ever closer… If they saw Beejou… the iron he was wearing with the Emperor’s coat of arms on the amulet lying on his chest.

            Finn didn’t need to tell him again…


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

 

The bird weighed next to nothing in his arms. It didn’t even move and hadn’t it been for the occasional blinking, Beejou would’ve thought the hawk was dead. But he didn’t have time to think All his concentration was focused on staying in the saddle, while the sounds of swords clashing and screeching against each other grew ever fainter.

            Not once did he look back, grateful for the fact that he was getting away from this fight and to safety. At least that was all he could pray for. He didn’t even care about the bird anymore. If it died along the way, he could always let it fall to the ground and carry on without it.

            At the thought, he felt an icy chill spreading through his chest and a sudden heat made his cheeks burn. His heels dug into Snap’s sides and the horse picked up speed. With a squeal, Beejou reached for its mane, fighting for balance, unable to look anywhere but his steed’s slender neck while the brownish landscape rushed by, making his head spin.

            The bird gave a sudden, wheezing sound and despite his determination not to get distracted from trying to stay on the horse, he looked down. The animal’s eyes were closed, its beak slightly parted and it was as if Beejou’s heart was being squashed by an iron hand.

            “Don’t you dare,” he hissed through clenched teeth, shaking his head violently. He’d be damned if he was going to be responsible for the bird’s death in any way.

            It seemed to take hours, hours in which the bird’s weight seemed to lessen with every rocky stride of the horse, before he finally spotted the ruins of the ancient castle, its battlements reaching up into the sky like broken, moss-covered teeth. Beejou had never seen a building this desolate and his insides churned, as the horse slowed down and started making its way up the steep slope. It must know the way, Beejou thought, as he realized how surefooted Snap was as he trudged along the narrow path leading up the rocky terrain towards the drawbridge. The wooden planks looked old and as though no carpenter had bothered to check them for stability in several years, but Beejou could see smoke rising from behind the battlements. A fire meant safety, he thought and realized that he hadn’t been properly warm in days.

            He looked down at the bird once more, wondering if it might not have been wounded, hadn’t he run away like he had. No… this train of thought wasn’t getting him anywhere. He looked up the battlements. “Hey!” he shouted, hoping the monk Finn had talked of was really capable of helping it. If he truly was a monk, but lived outside a monastery, what kind of person could he possibly be?

            “Hey! We need some help!”

            “Who’s there?!” came a voice, which made Beejou sit up straight. A female voice. What… what kind of a monk was that? Or was Finn simply unable to tell the difference between a monk and a nun after what must have been years spent only with his horse and the hawk.

            “Like I said: we need help! I have a bird here. A hawk! He’s wounded.”

            “Wonderful!” The voice gave back, drawing nearer. “We haven’t had fresh meat in forever.”

            “No!” Beejou shouted back, pulling the bird closer to his chest protectively. “It’s not for eating!”

            “Oh, is it lent again?”

            “He belongs to a man called Finn and-“

            “Hey, I know you!” A young, fresh face appeared over the battlements. Beejou squinted, trying to recognize the features, and then it hit him… the woman who had dragged him from the market place… Rey. “Is this…” he muttered, only now remembering her words back in the city, “Is this Castle Dagobah?!”

            “That it is! Hey, you made it!” she laughed. “The bird is Finn’s you say?”

            Beejou nodded, wondering how he could possibly have ended up here of all places, where he’d see Rey again. “Can you help?”

            “I can’t, but there’s someone here who will be able to!”

            His heart beat wildly in his chest as the drawbridge was lowered and when the slender frame of the woman he had talked to only once before appeared on the other end, he felt his mouth go dry.

            “Come on in, then!” she shouted. “But keep on the left side! The right is brittle!”

            Slowly, but surely, so as not to drop the hawk, Beejou got off the horse and patted its strong shoulder. “Thank you, for getting me here,” he whispered, surprised at the soft, almost fuzzy feeling in his chest when he met that dark gaze.

            He took the reins in one hand and started making his way towards Rey, who was still waiting for him. Underneath his feet, the wood seemed soft, almost too soft, and he started moving faster, ignoring the moat beneath with its murky, foul smelling water. When he reached Rey, she looked down at him with an almost gentle smile on her lips. “What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?” she asked, shaking her head, before turning serious again without waiting for his answer and bending low over the bird in his arms.

            “Pull up the drawbridge, will you?” She pointed to the run-down gatehouse on his right, then bent over to take the bundle from him. “I will be up on the hill. The kitchen’s the only building still intact. You can’t miss it.”

            And just like that, she walked off.

            Beejou sighed and dropped the reins. “You can find some grass here, can’t you?” he asked the horse, which snorted and moved towards a small speck of green in the narrow courtyard. Beejou looked after Rey for a moment, still wondering how and why the fates had dragged him here.

            The wheel with which the drawbridge could be pulled up or lowered was easy enough to turn, the mechanism being well oiled despite the dilapidated state of the wooden construction of the bridge itself. It didn’t take him long to get it up and when he moved up the hill to follow Rey’s directions, he couldn’t help but wonder if the bird could be saved at all or if he had come here for nothing. And where was Finn? Had he made it? He couldn’t be sure of that either. Though Finn appeared to be fearless and strong, he was in no way invincible. Beejou shouldn’t even be concerned about the knight’s well-being. After all, the man was trying to force him back to where he would surely be discovered and put in chains again, but then again… he had sent Beejou here. Here, where he must have known someone willing to help would be. Someone who was willing to help a wounded animal, surely wouldn’t turn down a plea for help from a boy?

            Beejou found Rey waiting outside the door leading towards the only building still intact. It was completely made of stone and that was probably the reason why it had been able to withstand the aging process the rest of the castle had undergone. She sat there, with her legs crossed, her shadow reaching out towards him and significantly longer than Beejou had expected it to be. Already the day was drawing to a close again.

            “Is it in there?” he asked tentatively as he approached her and she nodded.

            “Luke says he’ll be alright,” she said and patted the spot next to her.

            “Who’s Luke?” Beejou asked, sitting down, “and how does he know the bird’s a _he_?”

            Rey shrugged, folding her arms across her chest. “How did you come to be with Finn?”

            “Uhm… I… I met him? And… and he took me along,” he answered evasively. “How did you get here?”

            She smiled again. She looked different somehow. Different from what she had looked like in the city. Yes… yes he had seen her face before, but he still couldn’t quite place it. “I was a slave, just like you. Just a maid in the Imperial Palace, but still…  when my father found out where I was, he got me out of there and brought me here.”

            “Your…” Beejou looked over his shoulder, then pointed at the door he was looking at. Wasn’t there supposed to be a monk here? And weren’t monks supposed to be unmarried?

            “Yes… well… accidents happen, right?” she smiled as though she had read his thoughts. Well, at least that explained why the monk was hiding in this desolate place. No monastic order would take him and his illegitimate child in…

            Beejou grumbled and turned to look ahead. Most of the view was taken up by the battlements, but he could still see the seemingly green see of the surrounding area lying stretching out to the horizon. He shivered. No one had ever even bothered to think of him. To get him out of there. He’d had to do it all by himself…

            “Why were you in town, then?” he asked. Why would she even go back there?

            “We have a few sheep,” she answered, pointing towards a run-down wooden shed, “We sell their wool in town and get the things we can’t produce ourselves there.”

            Beejou nodded, then looked down at his feet. The sky was turning red again. Finn hadn’t shown up yet. If he was dead, it was Beejou’s fault. How would he be able to live with himself if that happened?

            “What happened with the hawk?” she asked, breaking the silence.

            “We were attacked. Finn told me to come here to get the bird taken care of.”

            She was quiet for a moment, her eyes studying his face intently. She nodded. “Are you alright?”

            He shrugged, unwilling to answer. “I think so,” he murmured. He pulled his legs closer to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. His stomach grumbled loudly. He was tired. He was hungry, but none of that seemed to matter. Not right now.

            “Let’s get you something to eat,” she said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

            He shrugged. “I can’t…”

            “Yes, you can. Come on.”

            Beejou looked up, when she got to her feet and stretched out a hand towards her.

“You must be starving.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

 

He couldn’t hold in the burping sound and he didn’t even try. For the first time in his entire life, he had been able to eat to his heart’s content and now his eyelids were drooping, while his stomach felt ready to burst.

            A cool hand on his forehead made him look up. Rey was smiling down at him, her  eyes sparkling in the red sunlight streaming in through the window. “I remember that feeling,” she said softly. “You should sleep. You deserve some rest.”

            She had set plates with cheese, bread and cold meat before him on the table and left him alone. He hadn’t expected he’d be able to eat it all, but he had managed it. Not a crumb of bread was left over and looking at the table, he heaved a heavy sigh, an unwelcome thought nagging at his mind. “I haven’t left you anything,” he whispered.

            “Do you seriously think I’d give a nearly starved boy all our food?” She was still smiling and she shook her head. Her hand brushed through his hair and for the first time in his life he didn’t mind someone touching him like this. It wasn’t possessive, or demanding the way she did it, but there was something deeply honest in her touch he couldn’t quite place.

            “I could take the neck iron of before I show you where you can sleep?”

            Beejou nodded, surprised that he wasn’t more excited about the news. “What about the hawk?” he asked. “And Finn? Has he arrived, yet?”

            The smile froze on her lips. “I’m sorry, no.”

            Getting up was harder than he would have thought possible. Not only did the contents of his stomach seem to weigh him down, his legs didn’t seem to want to respond either. Her hands gently guided him outside and towards a roofless decrepit building a little to the left. He could see smoke rising from within. “What’s in there?” he asked, willing his mind not to think of Finn and whether he was dead or not or whether that damn hawk would die because of him.

            “We have a small furnace in there,” she said softly. “But don’t worry, it’s not nearly hot enough anymore.”

            Beejou stopped dead in his tracks, his hand immediately shooting upwards toward his throat, to where the iron was fixed around his neck. “What are you going to?” he whispered, his mouth dry.

            “Don’t worry. It’s not going to take long and it won’t hurt… I just need an anvil.”

            Beejou swallowed hard, wondering if it might not indeed be better to just leave it on. “Um…” he began, when Rey opened the door and Beejou saw nothing but a few glowing embers in the furnace. “You’re not going to kill me? Grill me? Roast my feet?”

            Rey laughed. “I swear. Come on in.”

            Tentatively Beejou followed Rey into the smithy. The air was stuffy even though there was no roof over the small space anymore. His eyes immediately fell on the anvil and his stomach twisted painfully.

            “We can do this,” Rey said gently and took a small hammer from the tool rack on the wall. “Don’t worry.”

            “Have you done this before?” Beejou asked, and Rey shook her head.

            “No? But I remember Luke helping me get rid of mine…”

            “Did it hurt?”

            “Well…” she shrugged but didn’t elaborate. Not a good sign, Beejou concluded, but he knelt down in front of the anvil anyway. Her hands getting his head into position were gentle, but decisive at the same time. Beejou was only glad he couldn’t see the anvil. He felt her move the neck iron, so the nail holding the iron in place rested on the anvil itself. She moved closer, her leg pressed against his face. “I’ll try to be as quick as possible. I swear,” she said and Beejou closed his eyes. The iron was uncomfortably tight around his throat and breathing was hard.

            He didn’t see it, but he heard the loud clang of the first clash of steel against steel. But he felt it even more than he heard it. The iron seemed to vibrate against his skin and was pulled ever tighter around his throat as Rey pulled it further on the anvil. Instead of trying to fill his lungs with more air, he simply held his breath, praying that she wouldn’t miss the nail. With every blow, he felt the hammer brush past his hair and the iron seemed to strangle him. Every single second was agony, but only when the iron finally fell off and he heard it clatter to the ground, did he realize how badly he was shaking.

            “You okay?” he heard her ask. “You can let go now.”

            Beejou nodded, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to let go of her anytime soon.

 

He hadn’t even felt the neck iron. All his life he had worn one, but only now that it was off, did he realize how heavy it had been.

            Beejou was lying on a cot in the kitchen and though he was tired and knew he should try to get some sleep, he couldn’t help but brush his hand over the skin of his throat and feel the imprint the iron had left there.

            He hadn’t looked at it anymore, but he had seen how Rey had thrown it on a pile of metal. He was free now. Finally free. Now he merely looked like a poor beggar, but not like a slave anymore. He was free to go wherever he liked.

            Except that he wasn’t.

            The thought of Finn was the other thing keeping him awake. He still hadn’t returned and Beejou trembled at the thought of being responsible for his death.

            With a sigh, he got up again. Rey was sleeping soundly on her cot and Beejou made sure not to wake her up when he pushed the door open as soundlessly as possible and slipped outside. The cool night air felt nice upon his skin and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Maybe tomorrow Rey, maybe even that monk she kept talking about, would tell him where he should go on from here. He felt lost. What _was_ he supposed to do with himself now?

            Find work, probably. Maybe on a farm or-

            A soft patting sound made him flinch.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pair of yellow eyes floating in the dark a couple of feet away from him. He was frozen in place, unable to move or do anything but stare right back into those eyes he had seen before.

            The wolf… the wolf was back…

            Beejou swallowed hard, trying hard not to blink, when the wolf seemed to lose interest all of a sudden. It snorted, then the eyes seemed to vanish, but Beejou perceived its movement. Next moment a door was pushed open. Beejou heard it, he saw the soft reddish glow stream out from the room and he felt his heart drop.

He moved closer to the door and, hands trembling, he peered into the room he hadn’t set foot in yet. The first thing he saw was a broad back, leaning over a seemingly motionless body. Beejou could only see the toes, long and dirty, but suddenly, they curled up and he heard a soft laughing sound.

Where was the bird?!

And hadn’t he had heard that voice before?

Beejou gasped and the man who had turned his back on him, whirled around. The face was half covered by a short, grey beard and his blue eyes were flashing in the flames from the hearth. “You...” he whispered, shaking his head. “You brought them here, didn’t you?”

Beejou swallowed hard, taking a step into the barely lit room. He nodded. “Where’s the-“

“Hey, kid,” a raspy voice said from behind the monk’s back.

Beejou _had_ heard that voice before! And the wolf! Wasn’t there supposed to be a wolf in this room?

He looked at the monk who was standing so close to him now that he was shielding the rest of the room from him. With a shake of his head, Beejou moved to the right and what he saw made his eyes pop wide open. The man was lying on the cot, a blanket draped over his bandaged chest and his hand was buried in the black fur of the massive creature next to him. The wolf had its head on Poe’s shoulder, eyes fixed intently on Beejou.

“Poe?” Beejou mumbled, taking a step back, so his back was pressed against the wall. “Wh- I mean- h-“

“Sit down, boy,” the monk ordered him, pulling up a stool and forcing Beejou to sit down on it. Only now did Beejou see the bloody arrow sitting on a shelf over the narrow cot.

“Is… is that …”

“I hope Finn was treated you okay?” The man asked, his lips forming a mischievous smile. “And thanks for the bread.” Poe… that was Poe! The bird was gone and here was Poe, a tame wolf at his side. A wolf whose stern look reminded Beejou of someone else.

“I need some air,” he croaked, jumping to his feet and throwing the stool over in the process and storming out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO so sorry for taking so long!! :( I promise to be more reliable from now on. I just had this terrible exam at uni and then I started working on my M.A. thesis and writitng stuff wasn't easy. But here I am and I think I'm back! ;)
> 
> Enjoy this chapter ;)

_Chapter 9_

Outside the door, he almost collided with Rey, who jumped out of the way with a barely contained scream.

            “It’s you!” She held up her hands and shook her head as Beejou shoved past her, his thoughts racing.

            “I’ve got to…” he trailed off, unable to say what it was he needed to do. The ability to form coherent sentences seemed to have abandoned him for the time being. He felt Rey’s hand on his shoulder and, trembling, watched her peek into the room. The monk appeared in the doorway and shook his head.

            “I really didn’t want you to find out like this.”

            Beejou scoffed. His legs were numb and he was sure that if he tried to move now, he would simply topple over, incapable of any further movement.

            “Do you want to come inside?” Rey asked tentatively, but Beejou shook his head.

No, he really didn’t want to go in there again. “I…” he began and took a deep breath, “What the hell is going on here?!”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Rey said calmly, exchanging a look with the monk, who stepped aside.

“You want to be there as well, Poe?” He waited for a moment, then opened the door a little further and gestured for the both of them to get in.

Rey was obviously waiting for him to move first and slowly, Beejou stepped back inside the room on wobbly knees. His eyes were fixed in Poe, who was still lying there on that cot, barely covered by fur blankets and with that wolf’s head upon his shoulder.

“Hey…” Poe said quietly with a smile, which took Beejou completely off-guard. He heard the door being closed behind him.

“You can come closer, you know?”

Beejou nodded, but he was unable to move until he felt a hand on his lower back, pushing him softly forwards. His eyes fell on the arrow again, then on the wolf, lying next to Poe like an ordinary dog. “What…”, he began and stopped again. Talking seemed impossible.

“Poe, are you really okay?” Rey asked, as she sat down next to the wolf. The animal raised its head, growled once and, at a soft pat from Poe lay back down again.

“I will be,” Poe said, smiling up at the monk, “or so I’ve been told…”

“It would have been better had you not been shot…” the monk said and sat back down again. Beejou looked at him, at the piercing blue eyes and the solemn expression on his face. So, this was the infamous Luke… monk, healer, father, hermit. What a strange person.

“I didn’t do that on purpose, you know?” The smile still hadn’t left Poe’s face, but it didn’t exactly make Beejou feel more comfortable. Far from it.

Beejou crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep breath. His head was still spinning, but there were so many things he needed to know. “So…” he began, drawing everyone’s attention to himself, “you’re that bird.” Poe’s grin came as no surprise, but it was unsettling nonetheless. “And that… that wolf-thing is-“ The black beast raised his head and growled again, this time a definite menace in its demeanour.

“That is Finn, yes.” Luke shook his head.

“How- why?” Beejou licked his lips. They were so dry, he would have gulped down a whole bucket of water if he could. The wolf’s tail was twitching.

“It’s a curse,” said Poe quietly, all sense of merriment suddenly gone from his face.

“It’s a what?” Beejou blinked.

“A curse.” Rey’s voice was deeper than before, Beejou realized and he turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were trained on the beast next to Poe. “Finn and Poe they…” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Well…”

“Poe was heir to the throne. Next in line after Hux.”

“How?” Beejou gasped, turning to Poe with wide eyes. “I didn’t know the Emperor had any relatives?”

Poe shook his head. “He doesn’t. Not anymore. Not close ones, anyway.”

“Poe’s grandmother,” said Luke with a weak smile, “was the oldest daughter of Hux’s great-grandfather. Over the last several years that line has died out. Only Hux remains and he saw Poe as a threat.”

Poe snorted and flinched almost at once. The wolf jumped to his feet immediately and started sniffing Poe’s face. The wounded man reached up and brushed his fingers through the wolf’s hair. It looked soft and Beejou found himself wondering what it would be like to touch it. He bit his lip, but couldn’t avert his eyes.

“I don’t care about that…” Poe said quietly, as the wolf lay back down. “I was just visiting the way my mother always did… And then I stayed a bit longer than I should have.” He was smiling again, crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes at this and he kept looking at the wolf… at Finn.

“Hux thought it would be a good opportunity to rid himself of Poe, but Finn, the Captain of the City Watch stood up against him… that’s when Hux found this sorcerer… Snoke.”

Beejou nodded hesitantly and took a deep breath. None of this had sunken in yet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t follow what these people were telling him. He had seen too much these last few days to say he couldn’t believe them. “And… and he did this?”

“Poe is a hawk by day, a man by night. Finn a wolf by night and a man by day. They can never be together the way they’re supposed to be.” Rey swallowed visibly. “Hux’s goal was to keep them apart so they wouldn’t be able to plot against him… their attachment would make it impossible for them to split up.”

Poe obviously wasn’t listening. His eyes were still trained on the wolf… on Finn. What it must be like, to never be able to see and talk the one person who could help you, Beejou couldn’t tell. He’d never had someone like that, but he had the strange feeling that there was more to it than just friendship…

“Is there nothing they can do about it?” Beejou asked, “I mean… spells can be broken, right?”

Raising his eyebrows, Poe looked at the wolf and shrugged. “That’s what I keep saying, but he doesn’t believe in that… He only wants to get into the palace and… end Hux.”

Beejou stared at the injured man for a moment. So that was why Finn wanted him to guide him through the city and the palace… to kill the Emperor. Not that Beejou had any objection to that, the Emperor wasn’t his favourite person to say the least, but breaking into the palace to kill him didn’t seem like the smartest idea either.

“I still think it is a terrible plan,” the monk said, shaking his head.

“Tell that to Finn…”

“I will. And I will tell him again, that there _is_ , in fact, a way to break the curse.”

“But he won’t listen,” Rey said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“There is?!” Beejou looked at Luke intently. “What?”

“The eclipse…” Luke said, without averting his eyes from Poe or Finn and Beejou understood.

The moment the moon pushed itself over the face of the sun, it would be day and night at the same time. At least for a few moments, and the eclipse wasn’t far away. Everyone in the palace and in the city had talked about it, but back then Beejou hadn’t paid too much attention to it. His only goal had been to try and run away but now he wished he knew when it would happen…

“What then?” Beejou asked with a furrowed brow, while Poe rolled his eyes and tugged at the dog’s ear.

“I know you can’t understand a word we’re saying here, but Beejou here will tell you everything in the morning. And I want you to know that I’d rather have you back than Hux dead, alright?”

He turned his head to look at Beejou. “Will you tell him that?”

Beejou nodded, a shiver running down his spine.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

_The spring._

            It was the only thing he could think about. They had to get to the spring in the atrium in the very heart of the palace, and the two men would have to drink from it. Preferably without anyone noticing them. That would be a challenge in itself, but before they could even attempt that, he’d have to calm down. In fact, he felt like he was suffocating, and he probably was. He walked the way in his mind over and over again, his mind playing tricks on him and making him fail each and every time.

            Beejou shut his eyes even tighter, trying to make his breathing as shallow as possible. The sack of wool Rey and Luke had put him in, wasn’t as tightly packed as ordinary ones might be, but he was still warm, and he knew that Finn in the sack next to him must be feeling the same thing. They had hidden the Poe in a small wooden crate with holes in it, and Beejou couldn’t help but envy the feathered prince. At least bird-Poe wouldn’t be feeling like he was being squashed by oily, smelly sheep hair. That’s what Beejou hoped anyway.

            He tried to ignore the fact that his sack was slowly but surely tipping over. They had passed the city gates some time ago, and now, as they rumbled through the streets of Arkanis, he heard the familiar sounds again. Of carts moving over the pebbled roads, of people shouting, merchants praising their products and monks shouting sermons into the crowds. This was his city, and only now, that he had spent several days away from it, did he realize how bad the smell was. It was breathtakingly horrible and he wondered how he should stand it, once the protective layer of wool was removed from his face, and he was exposed to the full extent of the city’s odours.

            The rumbling of the cart stopped, and just as Beejou felt his sack beginning to tip over, it was grabbed by a pair of strong hands. Not ten seconds later, he could feel the wool being lifted from his head. “You can come out now.” It was Luke.

            Getting out of the sack was no easy task, but he had to admit that he was grateful for not being as bulky as Finn, who was struggling even more to fight his way out of the piece of fabric. Though he had to admit the extra muscle would have come in handy. But the hours of practicing sword fighting in order to get that muscle was no cheery thought either. Breathing heavily, Beejou looked around. They were in a narrow alley, sealed off on one end by a flimsy wooden door. Behind it, he could hear the hubbub of the market in front of the palace.

            “So here we are…” Finn looked around and there was nothing of the roguish determination in his eyes anymore. He looked almost timid, but one look at the bird, whose crate had been opened as well, made him square his shoulders. “This is never going to work,” he said quickly as if he didn’t mean to say it.

            “Optimistic as ever.” Rey’s smile at least didn’t seem to portray any doubts. She dug in one of the sacks and a few seconds later, she had produced three sets of dark brown robes like the one Luke was wearing. The plan itself was simple enough, but Beejou still had his doubts of whether it could actually work, but if _Finn_ was silenced by Rey, Beejou wasn’t going to make his voice heard as well.

            Shuddering, he pulled on one of the robes which should disguise them well enough to enter the palace unnoticed. The church within the palace itself was kept by the monks Luke belonged to, so getting in should work fine… as long as they weren’t searched.

            Beejou could see Finn look over his shoulder worriedly. Then, deliberately, he turned to face the crate again.

“We discussed this before… but I’m not entirely sure you understand what I’m telling you, but I need you to get to the atrium. It’s our only chance.”

            Beejou averted his gaze, looking up at the sky, from where the sun was still burning down violently upon their heads. He couldn’t look at it directly, but already he could sense that the quality of the light had changed somewhat. They didn’t have much time.

 

The streets of Arkanis hadn’t changed in the few days Beejou had been away. He was walking between Rey and Finn.  Luke was making his way towards the Palace gates, through the stands of people selling silly souvenirs and praising their protective charms against evil spirits that would surely rise today to haunt the living. Some were looking forward to the eclipse, others were dreading it. Just like their little group in a way.

            Beejou dared to look up at Finn, who had drawn the hood of his robe over his face, shielding him from view. Beejou himself couldn’t see much, but Luke’s broad back, and the odd stand, merchant, or passer-by. His own hood was making it nearly impossible to see, and the wild pumping of his heart blurred his surroundings into a whirlwind of nothingness. All he could focus on was to follow Luke and make himself as small as possible. The guards waved them through without bothering to look at them properly, their shaggy robes probably looking to authentic to belong to assassins. As they passed the gate, Beejou could sense his entire body tensing up, but the sound of the bird screeching loudly above them made him relax somewhat. Poe at least was still there. He’d get past all the security measures without any problems…

            The familiar surroundings of the palace made his skin crawl, but he forced himself to keep up the pace and follow Luke.

            His mouth was dry as they passed servants whose faces he would have recognized in the near darkness, and with every step he took he felt more and more like they would recognize him, scream his name, and blow their cover. But nothing happened. Nothing whatsoever. They neared the chapel, but the closer they got, the slower Luke’s pace became. He was lost. Beejou just knew it. They were near the kitchens now and Beejou could sense the commotion within. The feast here was something the cooks had been planning for weeks now. Out of the corner of his eye, Beejou saw a guard approach the door to their right. His dark hair was hanging in his face, as he looked seemingly inconspicuously over his shoulder. Beejou felt his heart plummet at the sight. He knew that guard. He had been the one who had caught Beejou stealing a jar of jam once, but he hadn’t told on him back then. But would he get away this time, if the guard recognized him now?

            Beejou was frozen in place. Movement seeming an impossible feat. He was terrified. Terrified of drawing the guard’s attention, but before anything of that sort could happen, the guard pushed open the door. Beejou could see a skirt swish past the doorframe and the guard slipped inside, closing the door behind him and his friend in a skirt.

            Beejou took a deep breath, then he pushed past Luke, his courage surging. “Follow me.” He knew the way by heart and the closer they got to the atrium, the more violently the blood pulsed through his veins. He hadn’t been recognized. They had come this far… what could possibly go wrong now? Everything probably, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

They didn’t pass a single soul on their way through the seemingly endless corridors, and Beejou knew exactly why. This area of the palace was for the Emperor’s use only, and so servants and a few guards were the only people here apart from Hux. A small troupe of monks might have been conspicuous on any other day, but not today. Today, the eclipse, which had been predicted by the Emperor’s loyal astronomer, would occur and that meant special circumstances for the clergy.

            A hand on his shoulder yanked him backwards and he stumbled against a broad chest. He looked up. Finn. They were standing in the entryway to the atrium now, the light already vanishing and there, to the right of the spring, was a red-haired man, clad all in black, looking up at a beautiful hawk perched on the branch of an ancient oak tree. The bird flapped its wings, when the Emperor reached up to touch it and Finn behind him hissed.

            “Let us handle him...” Luke said quietly, pushing past them and entering the atrium before Finn could move, just as the Emperor waved at someone hidden from view by the tree. A beautiful, tall woman with stark white hair emerged and Beejou recognized her at once as the Emperor’s favourite bodyguard.

            Luke walked forward without pausing or trace of hesitation, and with every step he took, Beejou’s heart seemed to miss a beat. Rey squeezed his shoulder. “We should move,” she hissed, “we’re way too conspicuous lurking in the doorway like this.”

            “Send for the falconer,” the Emperor said, eyes still trained on the bird. “I want that bird.”

            The bodyguard nodded, and Beejou could see her eyes flicker towards Luke, while Rey pushed them inside the atrium and along the wall.

            “What’s the idiot doing?” she whispered, just as Beejou heard the soft screeching of metal against metal behind him. He whirled around, just as he heard a soft moan coming from the vicinity of the tree. He whirled around. The bodyguard had collapsed to the ground, apparently unconscious.

            Beejou blinked, just as the Emperor took a step back, reaching for the hilt of his sword. Next moment Beejou was thrown to the ground and he could hear the violent thumping of feet on the grassy ground, just as a dark piece of clothing landed on top of his head. Beejou threw it back, staring disbelievingly, as Finn, free of his robe, rushed towards the Emperor, sword drawn.

            “Guards!” The Emperor’s eyes were wide, as he drew his own sword and Luke ducked out of the way to kneel next to the bodyguard.

            Beejou cursed and got to his feet, but a hand on his arm held him back. “This is none of your business,” she whispered, her eyes trained on the two opponents.

            The swords clashed in mid-air and Beejou struggled to breathe as Finn stumbled backwards underneath the mighty blow. Behind them, he could hear the stomping of more feet and he knew that the Emperor’s guard was approaching. He looked up at Rey, just as the cry of the bird echoed through the atrium, making Beejou shiver.

            “Rey…” he begged. It was growing darker now. What was he to do? What were they to do?

            The opponents were glaring at each other, swords crossed. With a mighty lurch, Finn was thrown backwards and he fell to the ground, and, for a second, Beejou could see the sword start to slide out of his hand.

            The blood-chilling screech of the hawk, made Beejou gasp and before he knew it, the bird was on Hux, scratching at his scalp with claws sharp as daggers. Hux tried to swap it away, but it was all he could to protect his face. The sword fell to the ground, where it landed with a soft _thud._

            “What the-“

            Beejou whirled to the right, seeing five guards storming into the atrium, their helmets reflecting the last rays of sun. They drew their swords, but stopped dead when the bird gave one last cry and darkness settled.

            Everything was eerily quiet. All Beejou could hear was the laboured breathing of the two fighters. He made a step towards them just as Finn was getting to his feet, eyes fixed on Poe, who had appeared like a shadow and was standing there in place of the bird, stark naked, but seemingly unaware.

            “You!” Hux hissed, wiping blood of his brow. “What-“

            Beejou was pushed to the ground, his face smashed into the dirt and next moment, he could see a metallic object fly through the air, and the Emperor collapsed with a suffocated gurgling sound, Rey’s dagger protruding from his neck.

            With a gasp, Beejou jumped up. Rey remained standing there, her eyes glistening with tears.

            “Rey…” Beejou whispered, unable to grasp what had just happened. Incapable to believe how this brave young woman could look so utterly destroyed.

            Before anyone else could move, or come to the Emperor’s aid, Luke was by their side, grabbed Rey by the arm and yanked her away. “Come…”

            Beejou looked over his shoulder, as Luke pulled him away, and he saw the two tall men, he had never seen together before, reaching out tentatively for the other’s hand, ignoring the dying man at their feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

 

How they had managed to get out of the palace this time was a mystery to Beejou, even weeks after their escape. He only remembered Luke’s firm grip and his incessant cursing as they slipped from shadow to shadow and eventually ended up in the sewage system again.

            Beejou hadn’t been able to look Rey in the eye for a few days, before he realized that the Emperor must have done something terrible to her. Something that had brought out the killer in Rey, and only then had Beejou approached her again, as he helped her in their daily routine.

            They had returned to the castle after waiting outside the city for about two hours, praying and hoping that Finn and Poe would make their way out, too. Without any luck. And so, they had returned to Castle Dagobah, still that soldiers might be following them. But they had been left alone. No one had found them there. No one seemed to have recognized either Luke or Rey, or knew where they lived, and for a while they had dared to hope… Rey had been subdued, and darkness had settled over Luke, making it impossible for Beejou to ask either of them any questions.

            But he was free. Free at last. He didn’t have to be afraid of vengeful masters now, but the fear of what might have happened to Finn and Poe was still nagging at him. Up here, they might be safe from the Empire’s vengeance, but news were hard to come by. Going into the city was impossible under these circumstances, and it was all they could do to wait and bide their time.

            And then a group of knights in dark armour appeared at the castle door, holding aloft a banner, its dark orange colour as vibrant as the sun, and they were carrying a letter, which was to be delivered to no other but Beejou. Unable to trust them, Luke didn’t let them in, but he ordered them to leave the letter and ride away.

 

The weight of the heavy cloak was hard to bear, but Beejou bore it stoically. If neither Rey, nor Luke complained, then he wouldn’t either. He stood in the church, watching on in awe as the massive gold crown was lowered on Poe’s head. Finn was standing on his right, unmoving and glaring at the crowd. They had talked only briefly before the ceremony, but Beejou had found out that Finn still didn’t trust the situation, but that he saw it as inevitable that Poe was taking over the reign. He was heir to the throne after all, and the assassination of the old Emperor didn’t seem to bother too many people, especially since the murder had been committed by someone who had vanished into thin air. Everyone knew what Hux had done to get the crown in the first place and to keep it for the years that had followed.

            The black-haired man standing behind Poe was tall, his face solemn. Ben s’Olo had been a frequent visitor to the Emperor, Beejou knew, but apparently the change of power didn’t seem to bother him that much. Maybe the relations between the two nations was more important than the supposed friendship of the two leaders.

            The crowd cheered, as Poe rose from his throne and Beejou felt his heart rate pick up. Poe and Finn had said they’d fulfil their promise to him, but Beejou wasn’t sure he was going to take it. He had been looking forward to the celebration ever since the invitation had arrived, but so far all he wanted was to go back to the castle. Gold and riches seemed to have lost their appeal.

            Poe turned his head, and only when he stretched out a hand towards Finn, did the knight start to smile. The cheering grew louder, if that was at all possible and Beejou felt his chest swell with pride.

            He could be satisfied with what he had done, he knew. And if he was honest, he’d had enough adventures to last him a lifetime.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. Thank you so much for reading, and thank you [QuianLan](http://archiveofourown.org/users/QianLan/profile) for giving me the prompt! Writing this fic has been an amazing experience! Thank you for bidding on me ;)
> 
> Let me know what you think!


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